Kerala under financial pressure due to curtailments by the Centre: Governor's address

Thiruvananthapuram: The budget session of the Kerala assembly commenced on Tuesday with Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar reading out the Left government's policy which claimed that the state was under financial "pressures" due to the economic "curtailments" placed on it by the state.

In his policy address marking the commencement of the 16th session of the 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly, Arlekar said due to the restrictions on the state's borrowing limits and adjustments to the Integrated Goods and Services Tax, led to it being denied Rs 17,000 crore in the 2025-26 financial year.

Besides that, it suffered a further "loss" of Rs 4,250 crore due to the "Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) methodology "which deviates from the accepted recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission", he said.

Arlekar said that it has raised these concerns before the central government.

The concerns raised by Kerala also include the "excessive centralisation of powers" and the union government's "interventions" in the subjects within the domain of the state, he said.

Despite the curtailments by the Union government, the state achieved a growth of 12 per cent and it also doubled its output in the last decade, the Governor said during the initial one hour of the policy address that began at 9 am.

The Governor also read out in detail the accomplishments of the state government in the various sectors, like health, education, and infrastructure development, and the initiatives being taken to further develop them.

The 16th session will meet for 32 days from January 20 to March 26, as per the legislative Assembly calendar.

The discussion on the motion of thanks to the Governor's address will be held on January 22 and 27.

Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal will present the Budget for the Financial Year 2025-26 in the House on January 29.